The Best College Towns In America (When The Students Are Gone)

If a college town no longer has college kids living inside of it, does it still exist? The answer, according to GQ, is yes.

It turns out that a lot of college towns are actually pretty beautiful when they’re not drenched in the smell of stale beer, vomit, and used condoms. Who knew?

It seems like a double-edged sword to live in one of these towns. They are in beautiful locations. They’ve been built up with tons of great dining, shopping and nightlife. But nine months out of the year, you have to deal with this. While the locals probably hate the college kids, without the college, all of the things that make the town amazing probably wouldn’t be there.

Summertime for the locals must be like at the end of disaster movies. They exit their boarded up houses to find the town in ruins. Solemnly they whisper, “Now… we must rebuild.”